


In the Moonlight

by gerardsjuarez



Category: The Used
Genre: A Hard-Soft Kinda Love, Early Days, Fist Fights, M/M, just guys being dudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:07:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26295379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gerardsjuarez/pseuds/gerardsjuarez
Summary: “Blue and yellow has a lot of meaning to me... it’s about a soft love. It’s about Quinn.”
Relationships: Quinn Allman/Bert McCracken
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	In the Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was based on two things:   
> 1\. this video where the quote in the summary is found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5M0cWA_ypg  
> 2\. and this tweet: https://twitter.com/mustbetheblood/status/1299939842055340038?s=21

“Can you drive me to my parents?” Bert asked, standing in Quinn’s doorway with his backpack in hand.

“Uh,” Quinn sat up, putting down the magazine he’d been reading, “sure. How far is it from here?”

He shrugged, “Just a few minutes.”

Quinn looked over at the bedside clock next to him and tried not to cringe when he saw the time. It was nearing tomorrow Quinn didn’t care. He never cared.

“Alright,” he got up and threw on a flannel that had been on the floor. Bert watched him button it up, “you gonna tell them what we’re gonna do?”

“Well, you know how they are. They won’t listen to the record I’m sure but - well.” Bert shrugged again, smiling despite himself.

“Yeah.” Quinn sighed and snagged his mom’s keys off of the floor as well (a product of a late-night trip to get some cigarettes), pushing past Bert to walk out of the room. 

He’d moved in with Quinn only a few weeks ago. His parents had taken care of Bert in a sense, taken him in when he didn’t want to live at home anymore. They’d fed him and clothed him - okay, Quinn mostly did that. Even the outfit Bert was wearing now was mostly pieced together from Quinn’s closet. All his shirts and sweaters were a bit big on him so when Bert didn’t follow him immediately, Quinn snagged him by the shirt sleeve and pulled him forward, smiling in the dark of his parents’ hallway.

Quinn stood outside, Bert following him to the car on his own volition now. Bert put his backpack in the back seat and paused to look up at the sky. Quinn did the same, just to see what he was thinking. The moon was massive and bright and the stars seemed more visible than usual. The air around him was cool and he couldn’t say exactly why but tonight meant something. Meant something for what, he didn’t know. He just knew it was different.

He hopped into the driver’s side and watched Bert take over the radio, making Quinn chuckle to himself. Bert sat back and watched Quinn in turn mess with the heating.

“What?” He asked, amused.

Quinn just shrugged and put the car in gear, “It’s just very you, I guess.”

Quinn hadn’t known who Bert was very well when he’d first moved in. Bert seemed to catch on, looking away. Must’ve realized that he might not be the only one paying attention every once and awhile. Bert was always more keen on figuring Quinn out than telling Quin about himself. But when Bert was tired, sometimes Quinn got a story or two out of him. He had to know  _ something _ after sharing a bed with him for nearly a month. 

Like, for example, Quinn knew that Bert had a favorite toothpaste and that Bert had a lucky shirt and he knew that in 9th grade Bert had nearly shit himself at a school assembly. He’d told Quinn that story when he couldn’t sleep one night, lying next to each other on Quinn’s bed, laughing and covering each other’s mouths because his parents were asleep in the next room. Quinn had never had a best friend before.

“And why are you smiling?” Bert asked, looking at Quinn as he drove.

He laughed and took in a breath, “I was thinking about that time you shit yourself.”

“ _ Almost _ .” Bert corrected, “I  _ almost _ did.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Quinn said.

He scoffed, in good humor, “Whatever helps  _ you _ sleep at night. Do you really wanna share a bed with someone who shit his pants within the last few years?”

“Hmmm, guess not.” He admitted before he really processed what Bert had said, “Hey! You said shit!”

“Nearly! I meant nearly shit!” He was laughing like he didn’t want to and it made Quinn grin, “God.”

Bert couldn’t stop smiling at Quinn, a shit-eating (ha!) grin that made his friend roll his eyes and hit his arm playfully. Bert swatted at Quinn’s thigh and the look he was given was stern.

“Not while I’m driving, man.” He said, “You wanna fight, we can do it when we get to your place.”

“I’d win.” Bert said.

Quinn sighed.

The thing was, Bert  _ did  _ always win and he was pissed about it. Bert was skinny (like Quinn wasn’t, he thought to himself) and fought dirty, aiming for his opponent’s balls and ankles so he could take them down. Quinn often ended up pinned to the floor, bed, couch, grass, pavement - anywhere they decided to get into it for no other reason than to fight. The only time Quinn won fights was when they were verbal. Quinn was good with comebacks and knew what hurt and when to use it against Bert. Granted, most of their fights went from verbal to physical so when Quinn won with words, Bert pinned him till he couldn’t breathe. 

The lamest fight Quinn had Won won had been when Bert was half awake stealing the blankets from his side of the bed. 

“Motherfucker, I’m cold,  _ stop _ .” He’d said, yanking them back.

Bert had mumbled, “Suck my dick,” and rolled over to face Quinn.

“Yeah, I bet you’d like that.” He’d whispered and watched Bert smirk before passing the fuck out.

Quinn’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He tried not to think about that too much. He only looked away from the road for a second when Bert turned the radio down a smidge on a song that Quinn knew he liked. He’d sung it in the shower at the top of his lungs too many times for him to  _ not _ know he liked it.

“You know, it felt like something special was gonna happen on this drive.” Bert said.

“Yeah?” He encouraged.

“Yeah,” he sighed. Bert’s parents’ house was in the distance, “Guess not, though.”

Quinn looked over at him, “Motherfucker, are you blaming me for that?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged, “Did you feel like it was going to be special and nothing happened?”

“Well maybe I should blame you.” He pointed out.

“Blame me, then. I don’t care. I don’t get annoyed easy like your ass.” He mumbled the last part as Quinn put the car in park outside of the house. Everything was dark and he knew everyone was asleep. 

“Get out.” He said, calm.

“Fine.” He got up and slammed the door, grabbing his bag from the back and slamming that door, too.

Quinn unbuckled and got out of the car, too, “Don’t fucking slam my mom’s doors.”

“What are you gonna do about it?” Bert challenged and Quinn had had enough of him.

But it was actually Bert who made the first move, shoving Quinn after throwing his backpack into the ground. Quinn, stunned, shoved him back after a second, dodging Bert’s usual knee to the balls and sneaker to the shins. He seemed almost pissed that he didn’t hit skin, rushing toward Quinn and running face first into the first he’d held up to shield his  _ own _ face. Bert staggered away, clutching his jaw, looking  _ possessed _ . Quinn actually felt scared. 

“You’re dead, Allman.  _ Really  _ fucking dead this time.” He rubbed at his jaw a moment before lunging at Quinn.

He grabbed Bert’s fists and pushed back with the same force. Bert was gritting his teeth, eyes firey. Quinn managed to move his foot quick enough to hook around the back of Bert’s leg and knock him off of his feet. He landed on top of Bert in the yard of his fucking  _ parent’s house _ and scrambled to get ahold of him again. He managed to pin him by the wrists and huffed, out of breath. He couldn’t let go of Bert or else he’d switch their places. 

Fuck. He hadn’t thought this through.

Quinn watched him try to move his arms, wriggling under his grip. He even tried to kick Quinn off of him but it was no use. Quinn had him trapped. Bert made an aggravated noise and locked eyes with him. He didn’t look as pissed as before but he still looked mad. But when he moved his head upward, the moon caught his eye and gave them some kind of evil glint. 

Quinn kissed him. 

“Mmm!” Bert said but didn’t try to move away. 

Before it, he didn’t know why he was going to do it and during it he really didn’t know why he was kissing Bert. It just felt right. Like he was supposed to. Bert started moving his hands again and Quinn let go but didn’t pull away, instead resting his hands on the cool grass on either side of Bert’s head. Bert’s hands went straight for Quinn’s hair, pulling and tugging. Quinn should’ve known - he couldn’t stay still any other minute, why would Bert be still now?

“Mmm…” Quinn sighed and finally felt the tension bleed out of his body. It was like Bert had found a button in Quinn’s hair that made weeks of stress and intense band practices vanish. 

Bert gently pushed on Quinn’s face and he took that cue to break away, “Dude… why are you kissing me?”

Quinn shook his head, mouth agape, “I - I don’t-“

“Bullshit you don’t know.” Quinn suspected it was supposed to come out harsher than that but with the brush of light fingertips still in his hair and the way Bert was looking at him, it was more soft than anything.

He just kept looking back at Bert and thinking that the moon looked too fucking good on his best friend. And, well, it wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed it before, the way Bert treated him differently. 

“I don’t know how to describe it.” He said instead. 

Bert teases him, “You’re usually good at telling me what’s wrong.” 

Quinn ignored it, though, and took in a breath, suddenly aware that he was pinning Bert in his front yard, where anyone could see. He didn’t move, “What if it’s not what’s wrong?”

“What, like… like something’s right?” He chuckled and his smile fell when Quinn looked away, “Quinn?”

He got off of Bert and sat on the grass next to him. He ran his hands over his face and pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes.

“Quinn, man, look at me.” He pulled at his arms, effectively getting them away from his face, “Something’s right?”

“I said I don’t know!” He raised his voice, “Shit, Bert, I cant be the only one. You did it back.”

“Did what back?”

Oh, he wasn’t fucking serious.

“Kissed me back, fuckhead!” He scoffed.

Bert’s eyes looked up a bit, “And messed up your hair.”

Quinn couldn’t help himself; he cracked a smile, “You had me.”

He nodded, “I had you.”

“You little shit.” He scoffed again, this time with a smile on his face.

Bert grinned and leaned forward, pressing his forehead to Quinn’s, a thing he’d done before, many times, “Took your time.”

“Shut up.” He whispered.

He laughed, a low sound, “Make me.”

Despite his comeback, Bert was the one who grabbed the back of Quinn’s head and kissed him again, sweet and slow. He moved closer and made Quinn tip his head forward. The sudden shift opened Quinn’s mouth and Bert took full advantage. When his tongue touched Quinn’s it was like someone shocked him; he reached up and tugged on one of Bert’s long sleeves, spooked and looking for something to ground him. Funny, he thought, that Bert was someone who could make him feel like he was in a dream while also being the one who woke him up from them. 

Bert moved forward again and put his hand on Quinn’s thigh. He broke away then and Bert removed his hand, knowing he moved too fast, too soon.

“Sorry,” he sighed.

Quinn nodded.

“Um,” he paused and moved away to look at him properly, “Shit, your hair looks really yellow in the moonlight.”

He thought, what the hell, and said, “Your eyes look really blue in the moonlight.”

“Blue and yellow.” Bert grinned.

Quinn giggled - fucking  _ giggled _ , “Yellow and blue.”

“Do you wanna spend the night? Mom won’t mind. She meets with her friends in the mornings. And - and Dad gets up early to-”

He cut Bert off despite enjoying the blush on his face, “I want to.” 

“Cool. Cool. Um,” he looked around them and stood up, grabbing his bag that’d been thrown in the fight.

Quinn got up and brushed himself off, sneaking into Bert’s house and sharing darkened smiles, like they were sharing a secret.

And to a degree, he supposed they were.


End file.
